U.S. Pat. No. 6,875,744 B2 specifies short bioactive peptides that are primarily made from phenylalanine, alanine, leucine and lysine. Such peptides are water soluble or miscible and have been reported to offer a low in-vitro minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against P. acnes. Benefits for hydrophobic acylated peptides of similar sequences have been reported include increasing cell density of fibroblast cells in the Cyquant cell proliferation assay (Molecular probes, C-7026) due to boosting the immune system by acting like a host defense peptide. Host defense peptides boost the innate immune system and have been shown to have a number of immunomodulatory functions including altering host gene expression, acting as chemokines and/or inducing chemokine production, inhibiting lipopolysaccharide induced pro-inflammatory cytokine production, promoting wound healing, and modulating the responses of dendritic cells and cells of the adaptive immune response. The boosting of such aspects of healthy skin are the same as are required for younger and less-wrinkled skin.
It is not generally recommended that such peptides be stored in solution. However, the shelf life of peptides is extended for sequences not containing Cysteine, Methionine, Tryptophan, Asparagine and Glutamine.
Peptides are not very useful if they are insoluble in the aqueous buffers required for testing in bioassay systems. Peptides can be made more lipophilic with C2-C22 alkyl esters or amides on the terminus to modify the interaction of the peptide with skin lipids but this modification drastically changes the solubility and makes peptides even more difficult to deliver in a stable aqueous cosmetic vehicle. Many biochemists use dimethylformamide or dimethylsulfoxide to help dissolve peptides for aqueous bioassay. Both of these solvents are not considered acceptable for cosmetic use. Solvents like ethoxydiglycol or dimethylisosorbide are useful cosmetic solvents for enhancing skin activity and can help solubilize the lipophilic peptide in an oil phase. Formulation of excess lipophilic solvent can remove surface lipids and leave the skin feeling dry or brittle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,173 teaches the combination of dimethylisosorbide, peptide and silicone elastomers as part of a preferred transdermal matrix system.
Fulvic acid is the water-soluble fraction of acidified humus. Humus is the naturally occurring decomposition product of vegetation as found in peat sources. Fulvic acid is thought to aid transport of minerals to cells. US application 20060257437 (Ingman) used a combination of water, silica, and optionally silver ions, in a cosmetic containing fulvic acid for concealing wrinkles and improving skin condition, but did not employ peptides in the cosmetic specification.
Commonly assigned application Ser. No. 11/654,406 was filed on 17 Jan. 2007, claims the benefit of the 18 Jan. 2006 filing date of Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/760,034, and is incorporated-by-reference in its entirety. Ser. No. 11/654,406 discloses that specific short chain acylated peptides in combination with lycium barbarum (goji berry) glyco-conjugates lead to improved dermal fibroblast activity, resulting in anti-wrinkle benefits in cosmetic applications.